Waste

Generally speaking, waste is something that is left over or that it is no longer needed.

Waste includes any matter (solid, liquid, gas or radio-active) which is discharged, emitted or deposited in the environment in such volume, consistency or manner to cause an alteration to the environment, or is otherwise discarded, rejected, unwanted, surplus or abandoned. This includes matters which are intended for recycling, reprocessing, recovery, purification or sale.

Waste can cause pollution.

For more information on the different types of waste, including tips on how to reduce household waste:

visit the EPA website at www.epa.vic.gov.au; or
contact Sustainability Victoria on 1800 353 233 or visit www.sustainability.vic.gov.au.

Litter

Litter includes any solid or liquid domestic or commercial waste, refuse, debris or rubbish. It does not include emissions that result from the normal operations of any primary, manufacturing, business or mining industries.

Littering is illegal under the EP Act and ‘on the spot’ fines may be issued.

If litter is thrown or dropped from a motor vehicle, the driver of the vehicle, the registered owner of the vehicle and any person authorised by the registered owner to use the vehicle at that time are guilty of the offence of depositing litter.

Placing advertising material on any vehicle without the consent of the owner is also an offence. Penalties apply.

You must remove any litter if asked to do so by a litter enforcement officer. Litter enforcement officers can issue a ‘litter abatement notice’ requiring you to take certain actions in relation to your litter within a specified time period. Penalties will apply for non-compliance. Appeal rights do exist (see Appeal rights below).

Litter enforcement officers may enter premises, other than residential premises, at any reasonable time if they reasonably suspect a littering offence has or is occurring.

For more information on littering, including a list of litter fines, visit the EPA website at www.epa.vic.gov.au.

Plastic bags come under the spotlight


The EP Act now allows regulations to be made prohibiting the free provision of plastic bags by retailers. Although regulations are not yet in place, in the future we could see retailers being forced to charge their customers a minimum fee for each plastic bag that is provided in the course of a retail transaction.